generalspeaking

Iran's Deft Hand In Atrocities

"After 21 years of no justice, deception and defrauding the families (of victims) we hope that the truth will emerge about everyone who plotted to cover up and derail the investigation."
Olga Degtiar, Buenos Aires

Aftermath of the 1994 explosion in Buenos Aires (AP)

The trial of former president of Argentina, Carlos Menem, along with a former top judge and other officials has begun. The sad thing about this trial which seeks to establish the guilt of the accused for derailing the criminal investigation decades earlier into Argentina's worst terrorist attack that killed 85 people and injured hundreds more, is that the one individual who had worked longest, was most determined despite death threats to uncover details of the plot, was murdered mysteriously in January.

But prosecutor Alberto Nisman laid the groundwork and doggedly pursued all leads to gather the evidence that he was certain would establish the guilt of the 13 individuals he charged, including Mr. Menem, of conspiracy with Iran to deflect suspicion from the Islamic Republic of a dreadful carnage-ridden attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association in 1994. He also accused the present Argentinian authorities of continuing the cover-up of Iran's, Hezbollah's and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad's involvement.


Prosecutors hold that Iranian authorities were responsible for the bombing, a powerful blast that collapsed the organization's main building, leaving hundreds of people injured in the rubble, and 85 dead. Popular belief among Argentines is that the event's deliberate mishandling and criminal state-figure involvement represents the epitome of an inept and corrupt justice system that reflects the whims of manipulative politicians.

Those on trial include two former prosecutors, a former top intelligence official, former police officers, a Jewish community leader and a mechanic, who was the owner of the truck that carried the powerful explosives. How and why Mr. Menem and those others involved reached their decision to bury the investigation will remain the focus of the trial. The 1990s geopolitics are at the crux of the situation.

And Mr. Menem's ancestry as one born of Syrian parents will be probed. Iran and the militant group Hezbollah have long been accused of being the force behind the atrocity. Interpol's red-alert list continues to list several Iranian officials related to the event, despite Iran's denial of involvement. The argument forwarded by Prosecutor Sabrina Namer will be that former justice Juan Jose Galeano halted the investigation of a "Syrian trail" implicating Syrian-born Alberta Kanoore Edul.

Authorities had discovered that Mr. Edul had telephoned the mechanic who owned the truck that had held the explosives, Carlos Telleldin, days before the attack. Mr. Edul's parents just happened to have an enduring personal relationship with the Menem family and he had the telephone number of Moshen Rabbani, a cultural attache at the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires, in  his planner.

As circumstantial evidence goes, the interrelationship between all these critical figures simply cannot have been a mere coincidence. Prosecutors accuse Mr. Rabbani of having masterminded the atrocity and his extradition continues to be sought. Judge Galeano predictably denies having received orders relating to the attack from Mr. Menem.

But there was a 1996 payment of $400,000 to the owner of the truck and Judge Galeano had negotiated the payment issued from the Secretary of State Intelligence spy agency. Purportedly the money was used to convince Mr. Telleldin to inform to whom his truck had been entrusted. He implicated several police officers of the Buenos Aires province, discredited by corruption scandals.

Labels: Argentina, Atrocity, Conspiracy, Iran

posted by Pieface @ Sunday, August 09, 2015